I was asked this in a survey, and had to wonder if anyone actually cared.

The most I've seen are five, by Gillette, and honestly I have no idea why so many would be necessary. As such, I've omitted Five as an option. (Okay, so it was really a mistake, but you can always post).

I have an electric, but I've been thinking about trying a real blade. Don't know how many blades I'd go for. I'd probably try just one, as I've heard that done right, there's much less irritation than with more.

I tried the Mach3 and didn't like it, so I stuck with my Sensor Excel, until I found Sensor3, which I've been using for a couple months. I think I've just finally gotten used to it and am liking it better than my old 2 blade razor.

thats the best I could do. I was looking for the quintippo or one of the two SNL parodys. The first of which was making fun of a three blade razor back in the day and the second for another ridiculous one closer to the one I posted. Complete with removing the first layer of skin and stuff. Hilarious. Had to be there.

oh and I use:

Gillet Sensor
After its unveiling in late 1989 to trade and media, the Gillette Sensor shaving system was introduced in January 1990 in 16 countries, marking the Company's first pan-Atlantic product launch. The Sensor system has won many awards (for product innovation, design, advertising excellence) and has been accepted into several museum collections.

The Sensor system features twin blades that are individually mounted on highly responsive springs and that automatically adjust to facial contours.

I'm using a Mach 3, vanilla, with three blades, but I think I might make the switch to cheap single-blade disposables once I'm out of cartridges. Actually, I'd really like to go to a straight blade, but they're very expensive, and I guess dangerous. Spud should come in to this thread sometime and remark on the issue. He has an informed opinion.

A segment on The Late Show a few years ago had Tony Martin advertising a new 16 blade razer:

"The first blade distracts the hair, while the second and third blades sneak up behind it, cutting off any escape routes. The fourth and fifth blades attempt to coax the hair from its hiding place using modern modern counselling techniques while the sixth blade, posing as a passing motorist, acts as a decoy, allowing the seventh and eighth blades to swoop down and quickly overpower the hair. The ninth blade, disguised as a postman, administers a small dose of chloroform, allowing blades 10 through 13 to remove the hair and escort it away for further questioning. The 14th blade informs the hair of its rights. The 15th blade handles the paperwork and the 16th blade, well, it's just along for the ride"

As a member of the shaved head club, I've tried many combinations of razor and shave creams. The best by far to me is the Gillette Mach 3 and Edge Gel with Aloe for Sensitive Skin. Given enough time and 10 or so years of practice now, I can get my head shaved so smooth I have Aerodynamic Majors asking me tips for improving their designs.

i find that the mach-3 works quite well for me. it does indeed get very clogged (particularly since i am lazy and generally wait two or sometimes three days between shavings) but i have developed the habit of shaving while in the shower, so i have a constant supply of running water to rinse out the blades between each swipe. also i have developed the habit of shaving once in a downward direction and then going back over much of the same area (particularly the neck and cheeks) in an upward direction, which produces a much smoother closer shave. this is great since as i said, i am lazy, and it tends to prevent 5-o-clock-shadow from emerging for nearly a full 24 hours.

I'm going to stay at 3 blades until they release the N-bladed razor, which conforms to the shape of your face, and only has to be moved once, slightly downward, to simultaneously shave every single hair on your face all at once.

I switched to an electric razor about 10 years ago and found it to be much easier on my facial skin. I only occasionally have to revert to a manual razor and when I do it seems like it gives a little bit closer shave but really irritates my skin.

Steve

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" -Unknown
"Seems to me this is the point of Songfight" - Max The Cat